March 23, 2007

Republicans Out Of The Mainstream

... Public allegiance to the Republican Party has plunged during George W. Bush's presidency, as attitudes have edged away from some of the conservative values that fueled GOP political victories, a major survey has found.

The survey, by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, found a "dramatic shift" in political party identification since 2002, when Republicans and Democrats were at rough parity. Now, 50% of those surveyed identified with or leaned toward Democrats, whereas 35% aligned with Republicans.

What's more, the survey found, public attitudes are drifting toward Democrats' values: Support for government aid to the disadvantaged has grown since the mid-1990s, skepticism about the use of military force has increased and support for traditional family values has decreased.

The findings suggest that the challenges for the GOP reach beyond the unpopularity of the war in Iraq and Bush. ...

What ever could this mean? Hopefully, an end to the era of the timid Democrat. Here's calling our elected Democrats to be loud, proud, and unapologetic about being the standard bearers for governance in the public interest.

I guess there really is nothing like a dose of 'conservatives' going to war for no good reason, poking around in people's bedrooms and medical records, losing an entire city and generally failing to address the majority's day-to-day concerns for getting people tired of them. Shame it took so long, but better late than never.